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Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding a Material Amendment to the Housing Tax Credit Application for Ekos at the Preserve (HTC #20083)
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
WHEREAS, Ekos at the Preserve (the Development) received an award of 9% Housing Tax Credits (HTCs) in 2020 for the construction of 84 units for the general population in Irving, Dallas County;
WHEREAS, MHP Region 3 II, LLC (the Development Owner or Owner) requests approval for a reduction in the Common Area from 16,030 square feet to 4,251 square feet, representing a reduction of 11,779 square feet or 73.48% from the Common Area represented in the Architect Certification at Application;
WHEREAS, Board approval is required for a reduction of 3% or more in the square footage of the Common Area as directed in Tex. Gov’t Code §2306.6712(d)(4) and 10 TAC §10.405(a)(4)(D), and the Owner has complied with the amendment requirements therein; and
WHEREAS, the requested change does not negatively affect the Development, impact the viability of the transaction, impact the scoring of the Application, or affect the amount of funding awarded;
NOW, therefore, it is hereby
RESOLVED, that the requested amendment for Ekos at the Preserve is approved as presented at this meeting, and the Executive Director and his designees are each hereby authorized, directed, and empowered to take all necessary action to effectuate the foregoing.
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BACKGROUND
Ekos at the Preserve received an award of 9% Housing Tax Credits in 2020 for the new construction of 84 units for the general population in Irving, Dallas County. The construction of the Development has been completed, and the Owner has submitted the cost certification documentation. Upon review of the cost certification, staff identified a change in the square footage of the Common Area from what was represented in the Application. In a letter dated March 19, 2025, Rebecca Broadbent, the Owner representative, requested approval for a reduction in the Common Area.
The Application originally identified the Common Area as 16,030 square feet. However, according to the amendment request, the Common Area was miscalculated in the Architect Certification; however, a revised form was not included in the Application. The Architect provided a revised Engineer/Architect Certification dated March 13, 2021, identifying the Common Area as 4,970 square feet. The original Architect Certification provided included the area of the breezeways, stairs, and corridors for the three buildings, but did not include any of the clubhouse area. The revised Architect Certification removed the breezeways, stairs, and corridors from the Common Area and included the entire clubhouse building as the Common Area. The breezeways, stairs, and corridors, totaling to 7,339 square feet as-built, are not enclosed, they are open-air areas in walk-up garden style buildings, and these areas are not included in the Common Area calculation for the Development. The clubhouse includes maintenance, mechanical, IT, and HVAC areas, which are excluded from Common Area as well. When these areas are removed from the Common Area calculation, the Common Area is 4,251 square feet, representing a reduction of 11,779 square feet or 73.48% from the Common Area identified at Application. If the breezeways, stairs, and corridors, totaling to 7,339 square feet, were to be counted as Common Area, the total Common Area square footage would be 11,590.
The amendment request package indicates that the as-built Development has a smaller building footprint due to site constraints, and a redesign of the breezeways also resulted in a decreased square footage. Additionally, the kids center of 273 square feet was moved to an outdoor area, and the laundry room of 213 square feet was eliminated.
The change to the Common Area square footage still allows the Development Owner to provide the amenity points promised at Application, and the changes due to site constraints were not reasonably foreseeable or preventable by the Development Owner at the time of Application. The Owner has indicated that there was no net financial impact on the Development as a result of the proposed changes. Staff has determined that this change does not affect the scoring of the Application or the funding award, and the Development will continue to meet the accessibility requirements. The final recommended HTC amount will be determined upon finalization of the cost certification review process.
Staff recommends approval of the amendment request as presented herein.